Information processing apparatus and method, and program storage medium

ABSTRACT

This invention is, intended to allow user to easily and quickly set the preset recording of television programs on recording devices. When setting the preset recording of a television program on a VCR, the user of a personal computer first accesses an EPG server on the Internet to download the preset recording data of that program. The personal computer converts the downloaded preset recording data into a G-code and transmits the G-code from a video mouse to the VCR as an infrared signal. The VCR decodes the received G-code, recognizes the program to be preset for recording, and sets the preset recording of the recognized program.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an information processingapparatus and method and a program storage medium, and moreparticularly, to an information processing apparatus and method and aprogram storage medium for setting preset recording to a recordingapparatus by use of control information recorded on a programinformation providing apparatus.

Recently, system services (for example, iEPG (trademark)) have begun inwhich television programs are preset or programmed for recording by useof program preset recording sites on the Internet. In these presetrecording systems, each user accesses a program preset recording sitefrom his personal computer and operates a preset recording buttoncorresponding to a desired television program to download acorresponding text file described with station name, program name, andprogram start and end times for example.

When the program start time comes, the personal computer selects acorresponding broadcasting channel by its tuner, compresses the receiveddata by the MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) standard for example,and records the compressed data to its hard disk for example. Thisallows each user to preset desired programs for recording only byperforming necessary operations on the Internet without having toperform cumbersome operations hitherto required in preset recordingprograms.

However, the above-mentioned television program preset recording systemservices basically require a personal computer for using the services,barring generally widespread VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders), which aretelevision program recording apparatuses, from accessing these services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to facilitate andspeed up the setting of preset recording of television programs torecording apparatuses such as VCRs.

In carrying out the invention and according to an aspect thereof, thereis provided an information processing apparatus comprising: acquisitionmeans for acquiring control information for controlling preset recordingof a program from a program information providing apparatus; conversionmeans for converting contents described in the control informationacquired by the acquisition means into code information for setting theprogram preset recording to a recording apparatus; and a transmissionmeans for transmitting the code information obtained by the conversionmeans to the recording apparatus.

The above-mentioned code information may be the G-Code.

The above-mentioned transmission means may transmit the code informationto the recording apparatus through an infrared signal.

The above-mentioned control information may include the broadcastchannel information, broadcast date, and broadcast start and end timesfor example of the program.

In carrying out the invention and according to another aspect thereof,there is provided an information processing method comprising the stepsof: acquiring control information for controlling preset recording of aprogram from a program information providing apparatus; convertingcontents described in the control information acquired by theacquisition step into code information for setting the program presetrecording to a recording apparatus; and transmitting the codeinformation obtained by the conversion step to the recording apparatus.

In carrying out the invention and according to still another aspectthereof, there is provided a program storage medium storing acomputer-readable program comprising the steps of: acquiring controlinformation for controlling preset recording of a program from a programinformation providing apparatus; converting contents described in thecontrol information acquired by the acquisition step into codeinformation for setting the program preset recording to a recordingapparatus; and transmitting the code information obtained by theconversion step to the recording apparatus.

In the above-mentioned information processing apparatus and method andprogram storage medium, the control information for controlling thepreset recording of a television program is retrieved from the programinformation providing apparatus and the contents of the retrievedinformation are converted into code information which is used to set thepresetting recording of the program to the recording apparatus. Theobtained code information is transmitted to the recording apparatus.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description and theappended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich like parts or elements denoted by like reference symbols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration ofa preset recording system practiced as one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view of a camera-mounted digitalmobile telephone shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary sectional perspective view of the camera-mounteddigital mobile telephone shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary internalconfiguration of the camera-mounted digital mobile telephone shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a PDA shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the PDA shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary internalconfiguration of the PDA shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of apersonal computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of animage processing board shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of aVCR shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for describing the processing by the personalcomputer;

FIG. 12 illustrates application programs to be executed by the personalcomputer;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary display of a program guide;

FIG. 14 illustrates exemplary preset recording data;

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary channel conversion file;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for describing the processing of thecamera-mounted digital mobile telephone;

FIG. 17 illustrates application programs to be executed by thecamera-mounted digital mobile telephone;

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary program selection screen;

FIG. 19 illustrates another exemplary program selection screen;

FIG. 20 illustrates still another exemplary program selection screen;

FIG. 21 illustrates yet another exemplary program selection screen;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for describing a processing operation of the VCR;

FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary television display;

FIG. 24 illustrates another exemplary television display; and

FIG. 25 is a flowchart for describing another processing operation ofthe VCR.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This invention will be described in further detail by way of examplewith reference to the accompanying drawings. Now, referring to FIG. 1,there is shown an exemplary configuration of a program preset recordingsystem to which the present invention is applied.

A public switched line network 4 is connected to a camera-mounteddigital mobile telephone (hereafter also simply referred to as a mobiletelephone) 1 or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) 2 via a base station3-1 or 3-2 respectively, each base station being a stationary wirelessterminal arranged in a cell obtained by dividing a communication servicearea into predetermined sub-areas.

The public switched line network 4 is also connected to a personalcomputer 5.

The base station 3-1 or 3-2 wirelessly connects the PDA 2 or the mobiletelephone 1, by W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) forexample, executing high-speed data communication at a maximum of 2 Mbpsby use of 2 GHz frequency band.

The base station 3-1 or 3-2 is connected to the public switched linenetwork 4 via a fixed-line. The public switched line network 4 isconnected to an access server 6, which is an Internet service provider.Through the access server 6, the public switched line network 4 isconnected to the Internet, subscriber fixed-line terminal devices,computer networks, intranets, not shown, and so on.

The Internet 7 is connected to an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) server8, WWW (World Wide Web) servers 9-1 through 9-N, and a managementcontrol apparatus 10.

The EPG server 8 is a so-called Web server, storing, in its internalprogram database, a program guide listing programs to be broadcast bytelevision stations in a predetermined area, such as Japan. The EPGserver 8 also stores preset recording data which allows the user to setthe preset recording of each program in the personal computer 5 forexample. These preset recording data are text data which describe thebroadcast date, broadcast channel, and broadcast start and end times,and so on of each program, details of which will be described later.

The Internet 7 is connected to many WWW servers 9-1 through 9N. The WWWservers 9-1 through 9N are accessed from the subscriber fixed-lineterminal, the mobile telephone 1, the PDA 2, and the personal computer 5in accordance with the TCP/IP protocol. Therefore, the EPG server 8 andthe WWW servers 9-1 through 9N store not only the content correspondingto the WWW browser of the personal computer 5 but also the contentcorresponding to the WWW browser of the mobile telephone 1 and the PDA2.

The management control apparatus 10, connected to the subscriberfixed-line terminal, the mobile telephone 1, the PDA 2, and personalcomputer 5 via the public switched line network 4, executesauthentication processing and fee-charging processing on each of theseterminals.

The mobile telephone 1 and the PDA 2 can communicate large quantities ofdata at high speeds with the base station 3-1 or 3-2 on the basis ofW-CDMA, so that the users of the mobile telephone 1 and the PDA 2 canexecute the transfer of electronic mail, the browsing of simplified homepages recorded on the WWW servers 9-1 through 9-N, and the transfer ofimage files, and other various data communications.

The personal computer 5 is supplied with signals which are obtained atan antenna 11 by converting the radio waves transmitted from atelevision station, not shown. Consequently, the user of the personalcomputer 5 can view desired television programs and record them to thehard disk for example of the personal computer 5 if required.

When setting the preset recording of a program, the user of the personalcomputer 5 can make the necessary settings of broadcast channel andbroadcast date for example by operating the keyboard for example of thepersonal computer 5. Alternatively, the user of the personal computer 5can set preset recording by accessing the EPG server 8 and using thedownloaded preset recording data.

Further, the user of the personal computer 5 can set the presetrecording to the VCR 12 by use of the downloaded preset recording data.In this case, the personal computer 5 converts the preset recording datainto information, such as a G-Code (trademark of Gemstar DevelopmentCorp.), which the VCR 12 can recognize as the preset recordinginformation and transmits the resultant information from a video mouse5A connected to the personal computer 5 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus)cable 5B as an infrared signal.

Receiving the infrared signal, the VCR 12 decodes the G-Code andanalyzes the broadcast date, broadcast time, broadcast channel, andprogram length of the program to set the preset recording thereof. Then,when the program broadcast start time comes, the VCR 12 extracts theprogram broadcast channel from the signal received at the antenna 11 andrecords the program of the extracted channel to a cassette tape loadedin the VCR 12. Therefore, the video mouse 5A is arranged in theproximity of the infrared signal receiving section of the VCR 12.

Likewise, the user operates the mobile telephone 1 and the PDA 2 toconvert the preset recording data downloaded from the EPG server 8 intoa G-code and transmit a corresponding infrared signal to the VCR 12,setting the preset recording.

The following describes the configuration of each of the above-mentioneddevices. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown an external view of themobile telephone 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile telephone 1 is composed of a displaysection 22 and a main body 23, which are foldable to each other around ahinge 21 in between.

The display section 22 has a retractable send/receive antenna 31 at itsupper left corner. The mobile telephone 1 transmits and receives signalsto and from the base station 3-1 or 3-2, which is a stationary wirelessterminal, via the antenna 31.

The display section 22 has, on its top center, a camera section 32 whichis pivotable within an angular range of about 180 degrees. Thecamera-mounted digital mobile telephone 1 takes pictures by a CCD camera33 incorporated in the camera section 32.

When the camera section 32 is rotated by the user about 180 degrees, thedisplay section 22 is positioned with a speaker 34 arranged at the rearcenter of the camera section 32 faced to the front side as shown in FIG.3. Thus, the mobile phone 1 gets in the normal talk mode.

In addition, the display 22 has a liquid crystal display 35 at the frontcenter section. The liquid crystal display 35 displays the contents ofelectronic mail, a simplified home page, and an image taken by the CCDcamera 33 of the camera section 32 in addition to radio wave receptionstatus, battery remaining amount, and names and numbers of phonesregistered as a telephone directory and call log.

On the other hand, the main body 23 has numeric keys “0” through “9”, acall key, a redial key, a clear/power key, and other operation keys 41on the front surface. Various commands are inputted from these operationkeys 41 into the digital mobile telephone 1.

Below the operation keys 41 of the main body 23, a memo button 42 and amicrophone 43 are arranged. When the memo button 42 is pressed, thedigital mobile phone 1 records the voice of the other party. The digitalmobile telephone 1 picks up the voice of the user in the talk modethrough the microphone 43.

In addition, a rotatable jog dial 44 is arranged over the operation keys41 on the main body 23 in a manner in which the jog dial 44 is slightlyprojecting from the surface of the main body 23. In accordance with therotary operation of the jog dial 44, the digital mobile telephone 1executes the scrolling of a telephone directory list or electronic mailmessages displayed on the liquid crystal display 35, the turning of thedisplayed pages of simplified home page, and the feeding of displayedimages, for example.

For example, the main body 23 selects a desired telephone number fromamong those in a telephone directory list displayed on the liquidcrystal display 35 by the rotation of the jog dial 44 by the user, andwhen the jog dial 44 is pressed into the main body 23, enters theselected telephone number, thereby automatically originating a call tothe party at the selected telephone number.

It should be noted that a battery pack, not shown, is loaded in the mainbody 23 at the rear side. When the clear/power key is turned on, poweris supplied from the battery pack to each circuit, making the digitalmobile telephone 1 ready for operation.

The main body 23 also has a Memory Stick slot 45 at the upper left sidein which the detachable Memory Stick 51 is to be loaded. When the memobutton 42 is pressed, the digital mobile telephone 1 records the voiceof the other party into the loaded Memory Stick 51. In accordance withthe operation of the user, the digital mobile telephone 1 records anelectronic mail message, a simplified home page, or an image taken bythe CCD camera 33 into the loaded Memory Stick 51.

The Memory Stick 51 is a kind of flash memory card developed by SonyCorporation, the applicant hereof. The Memory Stick 51 incorporates aflash memory element, one kind of EEPROM (Electrically Erasable andProgrammable Read Only Memory), housed in a plastic case havingdimensions of 21.5 mm×50 mm×2.8 mm. The Memory Stick allows writing andreading of various data such as images, voices, and music via a 10-pinterminal.

The Memory Stick 51 uses a proprietary serial protocol which guaranteescompatibility with the devices in which it is used even if thespecifications of the incorporated flash memory have been changed due tothe increase in its capacity for example, realizes the high-speedperformance of maximum write rate of 1.5 MB/S and maximum read rate of2.45 MB/S, and ensures the high reliability by the provision of an errordeletion preventing switch.

Consequently, the digital mobile telephone 1, configured to detachablyload the Memory Stick 51, can share data with other electronic devicesvia the Memory Stick 51.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown an internal configuration of themobile telephone 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the digital mobile telephone 1 is configured so thata main controller 61 for centrally controlling each portions of thedisplay section 22 and the main body 23 is connected to a power supplycircuit 65, an operation input controller 62, an image encoder 63, acamera interface (I/F) 64, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) controller66, a multiplexer/demultiplexer 68, a modulator/demodulator 69, audiocodec 70, and an infrared communication section 75 via a main bus 71,and the image encoder 63, the image decoder 67, themultiplexer/demultiplexer 68, a recording/reproducing section 73, themodulator/demodulator 69, and the audio codec 70 are interconnected by asynchronous bus 72.

The power supply circuit 65, when the clear/power key is turned on bythe user, supplies power from the battery pack to each componentcircuit, thereby making the digital mobile telephone 1 ready foroperation.

Under the control of the main controller 61 composed of a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random AccessMemory) for example, the digital mobile telephone 1 converts an audiosignal picked up by the microphone 43 in the talk mode into digitalaudio data through the audio codec 70. The digital mobile telephone 1performs spread spectrum on the digital audio data through amodulator/demodulator 69 and performs digital-to-analog conversion andthen frequency conversion on the digital audio data through asend/receive circuit 74, sending the resultant digital audio data viathe antenna 31.

The digital mobile telephone 1 amplifies a receive signal received atthe antenna 31 in the talk mode, performs frequency conversion andanalog-to-digital conversion on the amplified receive signal, performsspread spectrum on the converted signal through themodulator/demodulator 69, and converts the resultant signal into ananalog audio signal through the audio codec 70. The digital mobiletelephone 1 outputs a sound corresponding to this analog audio signalfrom the speaker 34.

Further, in the data communication mode, when sending electronic mail,the digital mobile telephone 1 sends the text data of electronic mailinputted from the operation keys 41 and the jog dial 44 to the maincontroller 61 via the operation input controller 62.

The main controller 61 performs spread spectrum on the text data throughthe modulator/demodulator 69 and then digital-to-analog conversion andfrequency conversion through the send/receive circuit 74, sending theresultant text data to the base station 3-1 via the antenna 31.

In the data communication mode, when receiving electronic mail, thedigital mobile telephone 1 performs reverse spread spectrum through themodulator/demodulator 69 on the receive signal received from the basestation 3-1 via the antenna 31 to restore the original data and displaysthe original data on the liquid crystal display 35 through the LCDcontroller 66 as an electronic mail message.

Then, the mobile telephone 1 can also record the electronic mail messagereceived in accordance with user operation to the Memory Stick 51 viathe recording/reproducing section 73.

In the data communication mode, when sending image data, the digitalmobile telephone 1 supplies the image data taken by the CCD camera 33 tothe image encoder 63 via the camera interface 64.

When not sending image data, the digital mobile telephone 1 can alsodisplay the image data taken by the CCD camera 33 onto the liquidcrystal display 35 via the camera interface 64 and the LCD controller66.

The image encoder 63 converts the image data supplied from the CCDcamera 33 into coded image data by coding and compressing based on MPEG2(Moving Picture Experts Group 2) or MPEG4 for example and sends thecoded image data to the multiplexer/demultiplexer 68.

At this moment, the digital mobile telephone 1 sends an audio signalpicked up by the microphone 43 while taking the image by the CCD camera33 to the multiplexer/demultiplexer 68 via the audio codec 70 as audiodata.

The multiplexer/demultiplexer 68 multiplexes the coded image datasupplied from the image encoder 63 with the audio data supplied from theaudio codec 70 by a predetermined algorithm, performs spread spectrum onthe resultant multiplex data through the modulator/demodulator 69, andperforms digital-to-analog conversion and frequency conversion throughthe send/receive circuit 74, outputting the resultant data via theantenna 31.

In the data communication mode, when receiving the data of a movingimage file linked with a simplified home page for example, the digitalmobile telephone 1 performs reverse spread spectrum on the receivesignal received from the base station 3-1 via the antenna 31 through themodulator/demodulator 69 and sends the resultant multiplex data to themultiplexer/demultiplexer 68.

The multiplexer/demultiplexer 68 divides the multiplex data into codeimage data and audio data, supplying the coded image data to the imagedecoder 67 and the audio data to the audio codec 70 via the synchronousbus 72.

The image decoder 67 generates reproduced moving image data by decodingthe coded image data by the corresponding predetermined decodingalgorithm such as MPEG2 or MPEG4 for example and supplies the reproducedmoving image data to the liquid crystal display 35 via the LCDcontroller 66. Consequently, the digital mobile telephone 1 displays themoving image data contained in a moving image file linked with asimplified home page for example.

At the same time, the audio codec 70 converts the audio data into ananalog audio signal and supplies it to the speaker 34. Consequently, thedigital mobile telephone 1 reproduces the audio data contained in themoving image file linked with the simplified home page for example.

In this case, as with electronic mail, the digital mobile telephone 1also can record the data linked with the received simplified home pageinto the Memory Stick 51 via the recording/reproducing section 73 asoperated by the user.

The infrared communication section 75 transmits the data received fromthe main controller 61 to other devices as an infrared signal andreceives an infrared signal from other devices to supply it to the maincontroller 61 via the main bus 71. Therefore, if the user downloadspreset recording data from the EPG server 8 by operating the operationkeys 41 or the jog dial 44, the preset recording data are extracted fromthe signal received at the antenna 31 to be transmitted to the maincontroller 61. The main controller 61 converts the preset recording datainto a G-code. The infrared communication section 75, on the basis of atransmission command issued by the main controller 61, generates aninfrared signal by driving a LED (Light Emitting Diode), not shown, in atimed relation corresponding to the G-code, transmitting the generatedinfrared signal to the VCR 12.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, there are shown external views of the PDA 2.FIG. 5 shows the perspective view of the PDA 2 held by a user. FIG. 6shows the top view of the PDA 2.

The PDA 2 is formed so that it can be held in the single hand andoperable in this state. The PDA 2 is formed at its top with a slot inwhich the Memory Stick 51 incorporating a semiconductor memory isinserted.

The PDA 2 is formed at its bottom with a modem, not shown, for providingconnection interface with the public switched line network 4 and a USB(Universal Serial Bus) port, not shown, for transferring various kindsof data. The PDA 2 has also a display section 81, keys 82, and jog dial83.

The display section 81 is constituted by a thin display device such asLCD, displaying icons, thumbnails, and text messages. Below the displaysection 81, a touch pad 81 a is arranged. Pressing the touch pad 81 awith a finger or a pen enters predetermined data or commands into thePDA 2.

The keys 82 are operated by the user when entering various commands intoa CPU 91 (FIG. 7).

The jog dial 83 is rotated or pushed into the main body by the user toselect an icon or a thumbnail shown on the display section 81.

FIG. 7 shows an electrical configuration of the PDA 2.

The CPU 91, in synchronization with a clock signal supplied from anoscillator 92, executes an operating system or an application programstored in a flash ROM 93 or an EDO DRAM (Extended Data Out DynamicRandom Access Memory) 94.

The flash ROM 93 is constituted by a flash memory, which is one kind ofthe EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory),generally storing basically fixed data among the computer programs andparameters for use by the CPU 91. The EDO DRAM 94 stores computerprograms to be executed by the CPU 91 and the parameters which vary fromtime to time in the execution of these computer programs.

A Memory Stick interface (I/F) 95 reads data from the Memory Stick 51loaded in the PDA 2 and writes data supplied from the CPU 91 thereto.

The USB interface (I/F) 96, in synchronization with a clock signalsupplied from the oscillator 97, inputs data or a computer program froma drive 111, which is a USB device connected to the PDA 2 and suppliesdata supplied from the CPU 91 to the drive 111.

The drive 111 reads data or computer programs from a magnetic disc 121,an optical disc 122, a magneto-optical disc 123, or a semiconductormemory 124 as required to supply the data or computer programs to theCPU 91 or the EDO DRAM 94 via the USB interface 96. Also, the driver 111stores data or computer programs into the loaded magnetic disc 121,optical disc 122, magneto-optical disc 123, or semiconductor memory 124.

The flash ROM 93, the EDO DRAM 94, the Memory Stick interface 95, andthe USB interface 96 are connected to the CPU 91 via an address bus anda data bus.

The display section 81 displays an image or a text corresponding to thedata received from the CPU 91 via an LCD bus. A touch pad controller 98,when the touch pad 81 a arranged under the display section 81 isoperated by the user, receives the data specified by the user (forexample, the coordinates indicative of a touch point) from the displaysection 81 and transmits a corresponding signal to the CPU 91 via aserial bus.

An EL (Electro Luminescence) driver 99 operates an electro-luminescenceelement arranged on the rear side of the liquid crystal device of thedisplay section 81 to control the brightness of the display section 81.

An Infrared communication section 100 transmits, by use of infraredsignal, data received from the CPU 91 to other devices, not shown, via aUART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) and transmits datasupplied, by use of infrared signal, from other devices to the CPU 91.The PDA 2 can communicate with other devices via the UART.

Namely, when the user operates the PDA 2 to get preset recording datafrom the EPG server 8 to perform the preset recording on the VCR 12, theinfrared signal including the G-code generated by the conversion of thepreset recording data is transmitted from the infrared communicationsection 100.

An audio reproducing section 102, composed of a speaker and an audiodata decoder for example, decodes the audio data stored beforehand orreceived from other devices for example, and reproduces and sounds thereproduced audio data. For example, the audio reproducing section 102reproduces the audio data supplied from the CPU 91 via a buffer 101 tosound the reproduced audio data.

A power supply circuit 103 converts the voltage of power supplied from abattery 112 or an AC (Alternating Current) adapter 113 and supplies theresultant voltage to the above-mentioned circuits, the CPU 91 throughthe audio reproducing section 102.

A communication section 104, connected to the Internet 7 for example,stores the data (for example, electronic mail) supplied from the CPU 91into a predetermined packet and transmits the packet to other devicesvia the Internet 7. Also, the communication section 104 outputs the dataor computer programs stored in a packet received from other devices viathe Internet 7 to the CPU 91.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a configuration of the personalcomputer 5.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 131 actually executes variousapplication programs and a basic OS (Operating System). A ROM (Read OnlyMemory) 132 generally stores computer programs and basically fixed dataof computational parameters to be used by the CPU 131. The RAM 133stores computer programs to be used by the CPU 131 in its execution andparameters which change from time to time in the execution. The CPU 131,the ROM 132 and the RAM 133 are connected to each other via a host bus134 consisted of a CPU bus or a memory bus, for example.

The host bus 134 is connected to an external bus 136 such as a PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface) bus via a bridge 135.

A keyboard 138 is operated by the user to enter various commands intothe CPU 131. A mouse 139 is operated by the user to specify or selectpoints on the screen shown on a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display 140. TheCRT display 140 displays various kinds of information in text and image.

A HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 141 and a FDD (Floppy Disk Drive) 142 drive ahard disc and a floppy disc respectively to record programs (forexample, a WWW browser 191, a preset recording setting program 192, aG-code conversion program 193 to be described later) and information orreproduce these programs and information from these recording media.

A speaker 143 sounds a predetermined audio signal. These components, thekeyboard 138 through the speaker 143, are connected to an interface 137which is connected to the CPU 131 via the external bus 136, the bridge135, and the host bus 134.

The personal computer 5 is also connected to the video mouse 5A. Thevideo mouse 5A is connected to the personal computer 5 via the USB cable5B connected to a USB port 144 which is connected to the interface 137in the same way as other processing sections.

An image processing board 145 is connected to the CPU 131 via theexternal bus 136, the bridge 135, and the host bus 134, and under thecontrol of the CPU 131, generates predetermined image or audio data onthe basis of the signal supplied from the antenna 11, outputting thegenerated data to the hard disk drive 141 via the external bus 136 andthe interface 137.

A communication board 146 connects the personal computer 5 to the publicswitched line network 4. To be more specific, the communication board146 is constituted by an Ethernet board for example which is connectedto the CPU 131 via the external bus 136, the bridge 135, and the hostbus 134.

The following describes a detailed configuration of the image processingboard 145 with reference to FIG. 9.

A 1394 interface 151 receives digital image or audio data of DVCR(Digital Video Cassette Recorder) format supplied from such a devicehaving an output configuration compliant with the IEEE 1394 standard asa DVCR, not shown, and supplies the received data to a DV (DigitalVideo) data interface 152.

The 1394 interface 151 supplies digital image or audio data of DVCRformat supplied from the DV data interface 152 to the DVCR on the basisof a protocol compliant with the IEEE 1394 standard.

The DV interface 152 outputs the digital image or audio data of DVCRformat supplied from the 1394 interface 151 or the digital image oraudio data (for example, 4:1:1 digital data not compressed) suppliedfrom a digital selector 157 to a DV data compression/decompressioncircuit 153, the digital image or audio data of DVCR format suppliedfrom the DV data compression/decompression circuit 153 to the 1394interface 151, and the non-compressed digital image or audio datasupplied from the DV data compression/decompression circuit 153 to thedigital selector 157.

The DV data compression/decompression circuit 153 decompresses thedigital image or audio data of DVCR format supplied from the DV datainterface 152 to output the decompressed data to the DV data interface152 or compresses the non-compressed digital image or audio datasupplied from the DV data interface 152 to output the compressed data tothe DV data interface 152.

A tuner 154 inputs an RF (Radio Frequency) signal supplied from theantenna 11 and outputs an analog image or audio signal of apredetermined channel to an analog selector 155. The analog selector 155selects one of the analog image and audio signals supplied from thetuner 154, the VCR 12, or a D/A (Digital-to-Analog) converter 161 andoutputs the selected signal to an A/D (Analog-to-Digital) converter 156or the VCR 12.

The A/D converter 156 converts an analog image or audio signal suppliedfrom the analog selector 155 into digital data and outputs the digitaldata to a digital selector 157. The digital sector 157 inputs thedigital image and audio data supplied from the DV data interface 152,the A/D converter 156, or an MPEG decoder 160 to select one of thedigital image and audio data and outputs the selected data to the DVdata interface 152, an MPEG encoder 158, or the D/A converter 161, andthe bridge 159.

The MPEG encoder 158 compresses the digital image and audio datasupplied from the digital selector 157 into MPEG digital data andoutputs the compressed data to the bridge 159. The MPEG encoder 158 alsoconverts a scene change image into a still image and outputs the stillimage to the bridge 159.

The bridge 159 outputs the non-compressed digital image and audio datasupplied from the digital sector 157 to the CRT display 140 via the PCIbus 136 and the interface 137 of the personal computer 5 on which theimage processing board 145 is installed. The bridge 159 outputs thedigital image or audio data of MPEG format supplied from the MPEGencoder 158 to the hard disk drive 141 or the CPU 131 via the PCI bus136 of the personal computer 5 having the image processing board 145.Further, the bridge 159 receives the digital image or audio data of MPEGformat from the hard disk drive 141 of the personal computer 5 andoutputs the received data to the MPEG decoder 160.

The MPEG decoder 160 decompresses the digital image or audio data ofMPEG format supplied from the bridge 159 and outputs the decompresseddata to the digital selector 157.

The D/A converter 161 converts the digital image and audio data suppliedfrom the digital selector 157 into analog signals and outputs the analogsignals to the analog selector 155.

It should be noted that the processing by the MPEG encoder 158 or theMPEG decoder 160 may be assumed by the CPU 131 by use of a predeterminedcomputer program.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown an internal configuration of theVCR 12.

A controller 171 has a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, not shown, and controlsthe entire operation of the VCR 12. The controller 171 performs variouscontrol operations on the basis of the signals received at its infraredsignal receiver 172 or the commands inputted by the user from anoperation panel 173.

A tuner 174 inputs an RF signal supplied from the antenna 11,demodulates the analog image and audio signals (program signals) of auser-specified channel, and outputs the demodulated signals to a signalprocessor 175.

The signal processor 175 processes the program signal supplied from thetuner 174 under the control of the controller 171. For example, when theuser specifies the recording of a program through a remote controllerfor example, the signal processor 175 records the program signalsupplied from the tuner 174 to a video cassette, not shown, loaded in acassette loader 177 by driving a cassette deck 176.

The cassette deck 176 records a signal supplied from the signalprocessor 175 to the video cassette loaded in the cassette loader 177.The cassette deck 176 reads a recorded signal from a video cassette andsupplies the signal to the signal processor 175.

A display section 178 displays an operational status for example of theVCR 12 on the basis of the commands issued by the controller 171.

The signal processor 175 supplies a program signal supplied from thetuner 174 or a video signal extracted from a program signal recorded toa video cassette to a video output section 179 and an audio signal thusobtained to an audio output section 180. The video output section 179and the audio output section 180 output the supplied signals to atelevision receiver, not shown.

The VCR 12 has a preset recording data storage section 181. The presetrecording data storage section 181 stores the preset recording data(including broadcast date, broadcast channel, broadcast start time, andbroadcast length of time, for example) obtained by decoding by thecontroller 171 the G-code supplied from the infrared signal receiver172.

Therefore, the controller 171 checks the preset recording data stored inthe preset recording data storage section 181 to determine whether tostart recording.

It should be noted that the configuration of each of the access server6, the EPG server 8, the WWW servers 9-1 through 9-N, and the managementcontrol apparatus 10 is basically the same as the configuration of thepersonal computer 5 and therefore will not be described herein.

The following describes an operation of the preset recording system tobe performed when the user accesses the EPG server 8 through thepersonal computer 5 to set the preset recording on the VCR 12, withreference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11. It should be noted that, inwhat follows, a drawing (FIG. 12) for describing the computer programsto be executed by the personal computer 5, a drawing (FIGS. 13 and 14)for describing exemplary screens to be displayed on the CRT 140 of thepersonal computer 5, and a drawing (FIG. 15) for describing one exampleof preset recording data will be appropriately referenced.

In step S1, the CPU 131 determines whether the user has specified accessto the EPG server 8 and waits until the access is found specified.

Namely, the user uses the preset recording data stored in the EPG server8, and if the user wants to set the preset recording on the VCR 12,starts the WWW browser 191 (FIG. 12) and enters a command to access theEPG server 8 from the keyboard 138 or the mouse 139. In response, theCPU 131 recognizes that the access to the EPG server 8 has beenspecified, upon which the procedure goes to step S2.

In step S2, the CPU 131 accesses the EPG server 8 via the publicswitched line network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 7.Consequently, the CPU 131 executing the WWW browser 191 receives an HTMLfile from the EPG server 8 in step S3 and displays a program guide asshown in FIG. 13 on the CRT display 140.

The program guide shown in FIG. 13 has download buttons 201-1 through201-11 for downloading predetermined preset recording data incorrespondence with each program.

For example, when the download button 201-1 is selected, the presetrecording data for preset recording “7 O'clock News” of NHK (trademark)General are downloaded to the personal computer 5 or when the downloadbutton 201-2 is selected, the preset recording data for preset recording“TV Map” of NHK General are downloaded to the personal computer 5.Likewise, when any of the download buttons 201-3 through 201-11 isselected, the preset recording data of the corresponding program aredownloaded.

In step S4, the CPU 131 executing the WWW browser 191 determines whetherthe program to be preset recorded has been selected, namely, any one ofthe download buttons 201-1 through 201-11 has been selected.

If the program for preset recording is found not selected, the proceduregoes to step S5, in which the CPU 131 determines whether the closing ofthe WWW browser has been specified by the user or the move to anotherhome page has been specified by the user. If the closing of the WWWbrowser or the move to another home page has been specified from thekeyboard 138 or the mouse 139, the CPU 131 ends the preset recordingprocessing. Then, the CPU 131 executes the processing specified by theuser.

On the other hand, if the closing of the WWW browser 191 or the move toanother home page has not been specified in step S4, then the procedurereturns to step S3 to continue the program guide display processing.

If any one of the download buttons has been selected by the user fromthe keyboard 138 or the mouse 139 in step S3, the CPU 131 executing theWWW browser 191 recognizes that the program to be preset recorded hasbeen selected, upon which the procedure goes to step S6.

In step S6, the CPU 131 executing the WWW browser 191 downloads thepreset recording data of TVPI (TeleVision Program Information) formatfrom the EPG server 8. At this moment, as shown in FIG. 12, a presetrecording setting program 192 is started and the downloaded presetrecording data are passed thereto for analysis and extraction of thedata necessary for preset recording.

Referring to FIG. 14, there is shown one example of the preset recordingdata of TVPI format. The preset recording data are made up of text data.It should be noted that the preset recording data shown in FIG. 14 aredownloaded by selecting the download button 201-10 shown in FIG. 13.

In this example, “Subject:TVPI200006021900” indicates a control commandfor this data to be record.“Content-type:application/x-tv-program-info;charaset=shift_jis” on thesecond line of the preset recording data indicates that this data ispreset recording data. On the fourth line of the preset recording data,“station:” is followed by the data for identifying a channel to berecorded. For example, in “station: Nihon TV” in FIG. 14, theidentification data is “Nihon TV.”

The channel identification data allows an ambiguous description within apredetermined range. The ambiguously described data are converted by theprocessing using a channel conversion file shown in FIG. 15 into thedata for identifying a predetermined channel (or station).

In a character string “4,0,0,4 Nihon TV, Nihon TV, Nittele, Nihon TV\Broadcast Network, NTV (trademarks)” for example in the channelconversion file, the leftmost “4” is the data for channelidentification, the rightmost “4” is channel display data, and the first“Nihon TV” is data for display channel name. The following “Nihon TV,Nittele, Nihon TV Broadcast Network, NTV” is a character string fortaking a match with a predetermined character string in the channelconversion file.

For example, if “station: Nihon TV” is written on the fourth line of thepreset recording data, the CPU 131 executing the preset recordingsetting program 192 determines whether “Nihon TV” following “station:”matches the character string located to the right of the fifth commafrom the left in the channel conversion file.

As shown in the example of FIG. 15, if the channel conversion fileincludes the character string “4,0,0,4, Nihon TV, Nihon TV, Nittele,Nihon TV Broadcast Network, NTV”, then the CPU 131 executing the presetrecording setting program 192 determines that there is a match betweenthe character string “Nihon TV” (located to the right of the fifth commafrom the left) and the character string in the channel conversion file.

If a match is found between the character string of the preset recordingdata and the character string of the channel conversion file, the CPU131 executing the preset recording setting program 192 recognizes, as achannel, the channel identification data on the same row in the matchingchannel conversion file.

Therefore, if the character string for specifying the channel of presetrecording data is any one of “Nihon TV”, “Nittele”, “Nihon TV BroadcastNetwork”, and “NTV” for example, the CPU 131 executing the presetrecording setting program 192 can recognize the channel as “4” on thebasis of the preset recording data.

Thus, even if the character string for a channel of the preset recordingdata is ambiguous to a certain degree, the CPU 131 executing the presetrecording setting program 192 can recognize a predetermined channel onthe basis of the preset recording data.

Likewise, the fifth through eighth lines of the preset recording dataare written with the data for identifying recording start date and timeand the ninth line is written with the data for identifying recordingend time.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, recording start date is “Jun. 2, 2000”,recording start time is “19:00” and recording end time is “20:54”. Onthe basis of this information, the CPU 131 executing the presetrecording setting program 192 can recognize the broadcast channel,broadcast date, broadcast start time, and broadcast length of timenecessary for preset recording.

Returning to the description with reference to FIG. 11, the presetrecording data as described above downloaded in step S6 are received bythe communication board 146 via the Internet 7 and so on to betransferred to the CPU 131.

In step S7, the CPU 131 executing the preset recording setting program192 starts a G-code conversion program 193 as shown in FIG. 12 toconvert the preset recording data of TVPI format downloaded and analyzedin step S6 into a G-code.

G-code is used in VCR Plus (trademark) of Gemstar Development Corp., inwhich such data necessary for program preset recording setting as“program broadcast date”, “program broadcast channel”, “program starttime”, and “program recording length of time” into a code of up to 8digits in the VCR 12 for example.

If the above-mentioned four elements are decimally expressed withoutcompression (it is assumed that a maximum number of broadcast channelsbe 99, a maximum number of broadcast hours of one program be 8, and theprogram start time and the program recording length of time be in unitsof 5 minutes each), a total number or programs can be expressed in a10-digit number. Weighting such as “whether program broadcast time is inthe morning or not”, “whether the program length is less than 1 hour ornot”, or “whether the program is started just on time (for example,7:00, 7:30, and so on) or not”, four basic operations of arithmetic, ordata compression is performed on the above-mentioned 10-digit number togenerate a G-code.

The settings for preset recording are different from maker to maker andfrom model to model. And it is complicated to enter the above-mentionedfour elements. However, use of G-code allows the user to easily set thepreset recording of television programs without being aware of the makerand model differences of the VCR 12. It should be noted that the G-codeconversion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,173.

Therefore, in step S7, the CPU 131 executing the G-code conversionprogram 193 first analyzes the contents of the preset recording data ofTVPI format obtained in step S6. In the example of the preset recordingdata shown in FIG. 14, the CPU 131 finds from the preset recording datathat the number of broadcast channels is “4”, the recording start dateis “Jun. 2, 2000”, the program start time is “19:00”, the program endtime is “20:54” to generate a G-code by following the above-mentionedprocedure.

In step S8, the CPU 131 transmits the G-code generated in step S7 fromthe video mouse 5A to the VCR 12. Namely, the G-code generated by theCPU 131 is transferred to the interface 137 to be transferred to thevideo mouse 5A via the USB port 144 and the USB cable 5B.

The video mouse 5A drives its LED, not shown, to emit light in a lightemitting pattern corresponding to the received G-code (up to 8 decimaldigits) to generate an infrared signal which represents the G-code andtransmits the generated infrared signal to the infrared signal receiver172 of the VCR 12.

Then, the preset recording processing in the personal computer 5 comesto an end, upon which the CPU 131 closes the WWW browser 191 asspecified by the user.

Consequently, the user can set preset recording on the G-code compatibleVCR 12 without checking the television guides on a newspaper or thelike. If the preset recording data stored in the EPG server 8 do notcorrespond to the preset recording program stored in the VCR 12, presetrecording can be made as long as the VCR 12 is compatible with G-code.

It should be noted that the user of the personal computer 5 can alsoperform preset recording in the personal computer 5 by use of theabove-mentioned preset recording data of TVPI format. In this case, whenthe program broadcast time has come, the CPU 131 executing the presetrecording setting program 192 causes the image processing board 145 tocompress, in the MPEG standard for example, the program signal receivedat the antenna 11 and record the compressed program signal to the HDD141.

The following describes the processing for setting preset recording onthe VCR 12 by use of the mobile telephone 1 by the user with referenceto the flowchart shown in FIG. 16.

The preset recording by use of the mobile telephone 1 is performedbasically in the same manner as the preset recording in the personalcomputer 5 described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11.Namely, the main controller 61 of the mobile telephone 1 has basicallythe same computer programs as those of the CPU 131 shown in FIG. 12.That is, as shown in FIG. 17, the main controller 61 of the mobiletelephone 1 has a WWW browser 211, a preset recording setting program212, and a G-code conversion program 213.

Unlike the WWW browser stored in the personal computer 5, the WWWbrowser 211 corresponds to the simplified Internet. When the maincontroller 61 executes the WWW browser 211, the processing shown in FIG.16 starts.

In step S21, the main controller 61 executing the WWW browser 211determines whether access to the EPG server 8 has been specified or not.The EPG server 8 stores not only the program data corresponding to theWWW browser 191 of the personal computer 5, but also the program datacorresponding to the WWW browser 211 of the mobile telephone 1.

The main controller 61 waits until access to the EPG server 8 isspecified. When the user specifies the access by operating the jog dial44 or the operation keys 41, the procedure goes to step S22.

In step S22, the main controller 61 accesses the EPG server 8 via thepublic switched line network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 7.Consequently, the main controller 61 executing the WWW browser 211receives a file provided by the EPG server 8, and in step S23, controlsthe LCD controller 66 to display program select screens as shown inFIGS. 18 through 21 on the liquid crystal display 35.

A category selection screen shown in FIG. 18 displays categories such as“Today's Programs” providing information about the programs to bebroadcast today, “Tomorrow's Programs” providing information about theprograms to be broadcast tomorrow, “Service Agreements” providinginformation about the agreements associated with the preset recordingservice, and “Description of Functions” providing information about thevarious functions of the preset recording service.

For example, if the user selects category “Tomorrow's Programs” in thecategory selection screen shown on the liquid crystal display 35 by useof the jog dial 44, the main controller 61 receives a compact HTML filefrom the EPG server 8 to display the category selection screenassociated with “Tomorrow's Programs” as shown in FIG. 19 on the liquidcrystal display 35.

The category selection screen shown in FIG. 19 shows “Movie” providinginformation about movie programs to be broadcast tomorrow, “Drama”providing information about drama programs to be broadcast tomorrow,“Sports” providing information about sports to be broadcast tomorrow,“Music” providing information about music programs to be broadcasttomorrow, “Variety” providing information about variety show programs tobe broadcast tomorrow, “Daily Life and Hobby” providing informationabout daily life and hobby programs to be broadcast tomorrow, “Societyand News Report” providing information about society and news reportprograms to be broadcast tomorrow, and “Culture” providing informationabout culture programs to be broadcast tomorrow.

For example, if the user selects category “Sports” in the categoryselection screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 35 by use ofthe jog dial 44, the main controller 61 receives a compact HTML filefrom the EPG server 8 to display a program information screen about“sports” as shown in FIG. 20 on the liquid crystal display 35.

The category selection screen of FIG. 20 shows the categories “Olympics07:55 a.m.” to be selected when viewing the information about an Olympicgame to be broadcast at 7:55 a.m., “Olympics 08:35 a.m.” to be selectedwhen viewing the information about an Olympic game to be broadcast at8:35 a.m., “News 10:00 a.m.” to be selected when viewing the informationabout a news program to be broadcast at 10:00 a.m., and “ProfessionalBaseball 19:00 p.m.” to be selected when viewing the information about aprofessional baseball game to be broadcast at 7:00 p.m.

For example, if the user selects category “Professional Baseball 19:00p.m.” in the category selection screen displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay 35 by use of the jog dial 44, then the main controller 61receives a compact HTML file from the EPG server 8 and displays aprogram information screen associated with “Professional Baseball” asshown in FIG. 21 on the liquid crystal display 35.

The program information screen shown in FIG. 21 displays detailedinformation about professional baseball. Below it, a download button 221is arranged for downloading the preset recording data of programsdisplayed on this program information screen. In step S24, the maincontroller 61 determines whether this download button 221 has beenselected or not.

If the download button 221 is found not selected in step S24, then themain controller 61 determines in step S25 whether the closing of the WWWbrowser 211 or the move to another simplified home page has beenspecified by the user.

If the closing of the WWW browser 211 or the move to another simplifiedhome page is found specified, the main controller 61 ends theprocessing. If the end of the preset recording processing is found notspecified, the procedure returns to step S23 to continue theabove-described program selection screen display operation.

On the other hand, if the download button 221 is found selected in stepS24, then the main controller 61 starts the downloading in step S26. Atthis moment, the preset recording setting program 212 (FIG. 17) isstarted. The preset recording setting program 212 is generally the samein function as the preset recording setting program 192 executed by theCPU 131 of the personal computer 5 and reads the contents of the presetrecording data stored in the EPG server 8.

For example, if the user executes preset recording of a “ProfessionalBaseball” program shown in FIG. 21, the main controller 61, in responseto the selecting of the download button 221, requests the EPG server 8for the transmission of the corresponding preset recording data.

In step S27, the main controller 61 starts the G-code conversion program213 to convert the preset recording data of TVPI format downloaded instep S26 into a G-code in the same manner as with the personal computer5.

In the example shown in FIG. 21, the main controller 61 recognizes thatthe broadcast channel of this program is “Nihon TV (channel 4)”, thebroadcast date is “Sep. 29, 2000”, the program start time is “19:00” andthe program end time is “20:54” and generates a G-code by performing thebasic four operations of arithmetic and data compression on therecognized data.

In step S28, the main controller 61 instructs the infrared communicationsection 75 to transmit the G-code generated in step S27 to the VCR 12.Then, the infrared communication section 75 causes its light emittingdiode to emit light in a light emitting pattern corresponding to thereceived G-code (up to 8 decimal digits) to generate an infrared signalwhich represents the G-code and transmits the generated infrared signalto the infrared signal receiver 172 of the VCR 12.

Then, the main controller 61 closes the WWW browser 201 and so on asinstructed by the user to end the preset recording processing.

If the PDA 2 has a browser which is basically the same in function asthe WWW browser 211 of the mobile telephone 1, the user of the PDA 2 canperform the same processing as the preset recording processing of themobile telephone 1 to perform preset recording of programs on the VCR12. Normally, in the PDA 2, a simplified home page is displayed afterbeing converted into PDA 2 display format.

The following describes, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.22, the preset recording setting processing of the VCR 12 which obtainedthe G-code supplied on the basis of the preset recording processing bythe personal computer 5 described with reference to FIG. 11 or thepreset recording processing by the mobile telephone 1 described withreference to FIG. 16.

In step S41, the controller 171 of the VCR 12 determines whether aninfrared signal including the G-code has been received at the infraredsignal receiver 172 from the personal computer 5 or the mobile telephone1 (or the PDA 2) and waits until the G-code is received.

If the infrared signal including G-code is found received in step S41,the procedure goes to step S42.

In step S42, the controller 171 decodes the received G-code to analyzethe preset recording information. For example, if the G-code generatedfrom the preset recording data shown in FIG. 14 has been supplied by theinfrared signal transmitted from the personal computer 5 in the processof step S8 of FIG. 11, the controller 171 determines that the broadcastchannel of the program is “Nihon TV (channel 4)”, the recording startdate is “Jun. 2, 2000”, the program start time is “19:00” and theprogram end time is “20:54”.

In step S43, the controller 171 determines whether the settings (orparameters) of the preset recording data supplied by the G-code arenormal or not, namely, for example, whether there is an overlap betweenthe recording time of the preset recording data stored in the presetrecording data storage section 181 and the recording time of the presetrecording data received this time.

If the settings are found not normal in step S43, namely, there is anoverlap between the recording times, the procedure goes to step S44.

In step S44, the controller 171 causes the signal processor 175 togenerate a message telling that the settings are abnormal and displaysthe generated message on the television receiver via the video outputsection 179. It should be noted that this message may be displayed onthe CRT display 140 of the personal computer 5 or the liquid crystaldisplay 35 of the mobile telephone 1 as required.

FIG. 23 shows an example of the message to be displayed on thetelevision receiver in the process of step S44. In this example, message“You cannot preset this program for recording because the data of presetrecording number 1 partially overlap with recording time” is displayed.Namely, the preset recording data storage section 181 already stores theprogram of preset number 1. It should be noted that not only the messagetelling that the settings are improper but also information such asalready preset program names, recording start times, and recording endtimes for example may be displayed. This allows the users of thepersonal computer 5 or the mobile telephone 1 (or the PDA 2) to knowthat the preset recording of particular programs is not allowed. Then,the setting of preset recording comes to an end.

On the other hand, if the settings of the preset recording data arefound normal in step S43, the procedure goes to step S45, in which thecontroller 171 extracts the parameters from the received presetrecording data.

In step S46, the controller 171 stores the parameters obtained in stepS45 into the preset recording data storage section 181, starting arecording timer.

In step S47, the controller 171 generates a message including theinformation about the preset recording as shown in FIG. 24 and displaysthe generated message on the television receiver for confirmation by theuser.

In the example shown in FIG. 24, message “Setting of preset recordinghas been completed. Preset number: 2” is displayed. Namely, the programto be preset for recording has been registered with the preset recordingdata storage section 181 as the program having preset number 2. Itshould be noted that not only the message telling the completion of thepreset recording setting but also the information such as program name,recording start time, recording end time, and recording mode for examplemay be displayed. Then, the setting of the preset recording comes to anend.

The following describes the recording to be executed by the VCR 12 withreference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 25.

In step S61, the controller 171 of the VCR 12 reads the preset recordingdata from the preset recording data storage section 181. In step S62,the controller 171 reads the current time from an RTC (Real Time Clock),not shown.

In step S63, the controller 171 compares the recording start timeincluded in the preset recording data read in step S61 with the currenttime read in step S62, thereby determining whether to start therecording. Until the starting of the recording is determined, thecontroller 171 repeats the processes of steps S61 through S63.

In step S63, if the controller 171 determines that there is a programamong the programs preset for recording in the preset recording datastorage section 181 which is to be started for recording, then theprocedure goes to step S64, in which the controller 171 starts recordingthat program. For example, if the preset recording data shown in stepS62 are the data shown in the example of FIG. 14, the controller 171instructs the tuner 174 to select “channel 4”, then instructs the signalprocessor 175 to reproduce the program signal supplied from the tuner174. Consequently, the program reproduced by the signal processor 175 issupplied to the cassette deck 176 to be recorded to a video cassetteloaded in the cassette loader 177.

In step S65, the controller 171 reads the current time from the RTC, notshown. In step S66, the controller 171 compares the current time read instep S65 with the recording end time included in the preset recordingdata read from the preset recording data storage section 181 todetermine whether to end the preset recording or not.

If the preset recording is determined not to be ended in step S66, thecontroller 171 repeats the above-mentioned preset recording processingback in step S64.

If the preset recording is determined to be ended in step S66, thecontroller 171 ends the preset recording in step S67.

Then, the procedure returns to step S61 to repeat the subsequentprocessing.

As described, the user of the mobile telephone 1, the PDA 2, or thepersonal computer 5 can set the preset recording of desired programs onthe VCR 12 by use of the preset recording data of TVPI format stored inthe EPG server 8.

It should be noted that the present invention is applicable not only theabove-mentioned camera-mounted digital mobile telephone 1, the PDA 2,the personal computer 5 but also any devices that can be connected tothe Internet 7 (namely, the EPG server 8).

If the VCR 12 is connected to the Internet 7 via the public switchedline network 4 for example, the user may access the EPG server 8 fromthe VCR 12 and download the preset recording data as described above toset the preset recording. If the controller 171 of the VCR 12 cannotanalyze the contents of the downloaded preset recording data, the usercan use a conversion program for example stored in a memory, not shown,of the controller 171.

In the above-mentioned examples, the device on which television programsare recorded is the VCR 12. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the recording may also be made on any G-code compliantrecorders such as hard disk recorder and DVCR for example.

The code to be converted may be information of any format as long as itdescribes broadcast date, broadcast channel, broadcast start time, andbroadcast length of time like G-code which can be used by the VCR 12 forexample for preset recording. Such information usable for presetrecording as mentioned above may be transmitted to the VCR 12 not onlyby infrared signals but also by wireless signals based on the Bluetoothstandard.

The above-mentioned sequences of processes may be executed by hardwarebut may also be executed by software. The execution by software issupported by a computer in which the programs constituting this softwareare stored in a dedicated hardware storage device or a general-purposepersonal computer for example in which these programs are installed froma program storage medium.

The program storage medium storing the programs which are installed in ageneral-purpose personal computer for example to be made executable bythe computer is a package medium constituted by the magnetic disk 121(including floppy disk), the optical disk 122 (including CD-ROM (CompactDisk Read-Only Memory) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disk)), themagneto-optical disk 123 (including MD (Mini Disk)), or thesemiconductor memory 124 as shown in FIG. 7 or the program storagemedium is constituted by the flash ROM 93 or a hard disk for examplewhich stores the programs on a temporary or permanent basis. Asrequired, the programs are stored in the program storage medium by useof wired or wireless communications medium such as the public switchedline network 4, a local area network, the Internet 7, or digitalsatellite broadcasting via such interface as router or modem.

The steps describing the programs provided by the above-mentionedprogram storage medium include not only processes which are executed inthe described sequence in a time-dependent manner but also processeswhich are executed in parallel or discretely.

It should be noted that term “system” herein denotes an entire apparatusconstituted by a plurality of devices.

As described and according to the invention, in accordance with theabove-mentioned information processing apparatus and method and thecomputer programs stored in program storage media, the controlinformation for controlling the preset recording of a television programis retrieved from the program information providing apparatus and thecontents of the retrieved information are converted into codeinformation which is used to set the presetting recording of the programto the recording apparatus. The obtained code information is transmittedto the recording apparatus. This novel constitution allows each user toeasily and quickly set the preset recording of desired televisionprograms on such recording devices as VCR.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed using specific terms, such description is for illustrativepurposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variationsmay be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the appendedclaims.

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a connecting unitconfigured to directly access a remote program information providingserver through the internet; an acquiring unit configured to acquirecontrol information for controlling preset recording of a program byaccessing said remote program information providing server through theconnecting unit based on a user request to access the remote programinformation providing server; a converter configured to convert contentsdescribed in said acquired control information into code information forsetting said program preset recording to a remote recording apparatusseparate from the information processing apparatus; a transmitterconfigured to receive said code information from said converter and totransmit said received code information directly to said remoterecording apparatus; and a display control unit configured to display amessage when said code information is improper.
 2. An informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controlinformation acquired by said acquiring unit includes a program guide andsaid display control unit is further configured to display a programselect screen according to said program guide.
 3. An informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display programselect screen is a category selection screen including pluralcategories.
 4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said code information is G-code information.
 5. An informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmittertransmits said code information to said remote recording apparatus byuse of an infrared signal.
 6. An information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said control information includesbroadcast channel information, broadcast date, broadcast start time, andrecording end time of said program.
 7. An information processing methodcomprising: directly accessing, by a connecting unit, a remote programinformation providing server through the internet; acquiring, by anacquiring unit, control information for controlling preset recording ofa program by accessing said remote program information providing serverthrough the connecting unit based on a user request to access the remoteprogram information providing server; converting, by a converter,contents described in said acquired control information into codeinformation for setting said program preset recording to a remoterecording apparatus separate from the information processing apparatus;receiving, at a transmitter, said code information and transmitting saidreceived code information directly to said remote recording apparatus;and displaying, by a display control unit, a message when said codeinformation is improper.
 8. An information processing method accordingto claim 7, wherein said control information acquired by said acquiringunit includes a program guide and said displaying displays a programselect screen according to said program guide.
 9. An informationprocessing method according to claim 8, wherein said display programselect screen is a category selection screen having plural categories.10. An information processing method according to claim 7, wherein saidcode information is G-code information.
 11. An information processingmethod according to claim 7, wherein said transmitting transmits saidcode information to said remote recording apparatus by use of aninfrared signal.
 12. An information processing method according to claim7, wherein said control information includes broadcast channelinformation, broadcast date, broadcast start time, and recording endtime of said program.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable mediumincluding computer executable instructions comprising: first computerexecutable instructions to control a connecting unit to directly accessa remote program information providing server through the internet;second computer executable instructions to control an acquiring unit toacquire control information for controlling preset recording of aprogram by accessing said remote program information providing serverthrough the connecting unit based on a user request to access the remoteprogram information providing server; third computer executableinstructions to control a converter to convert contents described insaid acquired control information into code information for setting saidprogram preset recording to a remote recording apparatus separate fromthe information processing apparatus; fourth computer executableinstructions to control a transmitter to receive said code informationfrom said converter and to transmit said received code informationdirectly to said remote recording apparatus; and fifth computerexecutable instructions to control a display control unit to display amessage when said code information is improper.
 14. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium according to claim 13, wherein said controlinformation acquired by said acquiring unit includes a program guide andsaid display control unit controls display of a program select screenaccording to said program guide.
 15. A non-transitory computer readablemedium according to claim 14, wherein said display program select screenis a category selection screen having plural categories.
 16. Anon-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 13, whereinsaid code information is G-code information.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium according to claim 13, wherein said fourthcomputer executable instructions further control said transmitter totransmit said code information to said remote recording apparatus by useof an infrared signal.
 18. A non-transitory computer readable mediumaccording to claim 13, wherein said control information includesbroadcast channel information, broadcast date, broadcast start time, andrecording end time of said program.